Think before you pour

Blocked sinks and drains are a real pain, and can be expensive for you to sort out. Blockages are often caused by fats and food scraps poured or washed down the kitchen sink, so they’re easy to prevent if you:

don’t pour fats from cooking food, such as roasts or bacon, down the sink - even small amounts can cause problems

don’t let food scraps like rice, peas and beans go down the drain (or the u-bend)

Follow these other top tips and avoid a drain disaster!

Before washing, pour or scrape fat and sauces (like gravy) from roasting trays, pans and plates into a heat resistant container; when cool put the fat in the bin

Small amounts of grease left in pans or on plates can be wiped away with kitchen roll and thrown in the bin

Use a sink strainer to capture food scraps and put them in the bin

For larger quantities of oils, contact your local council who’ll let you know how to dispose of them and where your local recycling centre is

It doesn’t stop at the kitchen sink

As well as causing problems at home, fats can also clog up the main sewer pipes under the street that take your used water away. Every year there are 28,000 blockages in sewers across the North West - many of these are avoidable.

These blockages can cause untreated sewage to run into homes, gardens, streets and even end up in rivers, the sea and on beaches.

Please help - think before you pour and you'll play a key part in helping to reduce blocked drains and sewer flooding.

Know what to flush

You might think anything goes when it comes to what goes down the toilet - but it really doesn't. Avoid a blockage by only flushing the three ps - pee, poo and (toilet) paper!